Angry Birds is arguably one of the most recognized games in the world. Rovio Entertainment developed the puzzle video game, with Rio as the third installation. Angry Birds Rio was designed to coincide with the promotion and marketing of the animated film, Rio, co-produced by The Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox. Released in March 2011, the game seamlessly incorporates Angry Birds characters into the plot of Rio.

Angry Birds Rio comes with fantastic new features never seen in previous Angry Birds games, like boss levels. The game was developed over the Box2D engine and is compatible with iOS, Android, OS X, Windows, Symbian OS, web OS, Windows phones, PlayStation 3, Xbox360 Kinect, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U platforms.

Similar Gameplay With Exciting New Surprises

In Angry Birds Rio, the main characters, Red, Chuck, and the Blues, are kidnapped by smugglers and taken to Rio. The players have to use a slingshot to launch the birds into nearby structures in a way that dismantles them and hits specific targets. Unlike the original game, where the pigs have stolen their eggs, this time, the characters have to break exotic birds free from their cages or defeat the villainous cockatoo named Nigel, depending on the level.

I was initially surprised to see several characters from the Rio movie, like Blu and Jewel, along with all the birds who ride the slingshot. I guess this was expected as it is a collaboration with the Blue Sky Studios characters.

The gameplay employs the similar puzzle approach of previous Angry Birds games but with new twists. The significant upgrade to the gameplay is the boss fights. This is the first boss fight to appear in the whole series, and I did not know we needed one until Angry Birds Rio. By defeating the evil Nigel and his marmoset leader, Mauro, you unlock many hidden items and extra points, which is excellent.

Angry Birds Rio starts with only two chapters, Smuggler’s Den and Jungle Escape. Each of them came with 30 levels. The game gradually follows an aggressive expansion, adding new chapters such as Beach Volley, Carnival Upheaval, Airfield Chase, Golden Beachball, and Smugglers’ Plane. With the multiple chapters, the game keeps increasing in complexity and difficulty, and you turn on a band of mad monkeys at a level.

There is a learning curve with all these chapters and levels, with new obstacles that sway and swing, unlike the previous crumble-based obstacles. The learning curve is not steep enough to frustrate you out of the game but gradually nudges you to understand the nature of the projectile birds and how to target them properly. I feel like it is a little easier to smash obstacles in Angry Birds Rio than in previous games, which means children can now play for longer.

The Fruit-Themed Chapters

One of the standout features of Angry Birds Rio is the special fruit in each chapter. They are rare and hard to find and function like gold coins in the gameplay.

You will find pineapples and bananas in the first and second chapters, watermelons and papayas in the third and fourth, and apples and mangoes in the fifth and sixth. The final chapters come with strawberries and golden rockets. Once you unlock all the golden fruits, you gain access to the Trophy room.

Monkey Smashing Business

In what I term Angry Monkey, you get to play against a band of monkeys. They are a lot harder to smash than the obstacles, but they are not as impossible to get as the pigs.

Some monkeys are hanging off of things, making them harder to reach with every projectile bird you send. Also, hanging lamps serve as additional obstructions to make the birds veer off course. You also bounce around thanks to some inflatable rubber rings on the ground that give you extra hits.

The Big Boss Bird Battle

In the groundbreaking boss fight of the game, you face the big white birdie, Nigel, who flies across the screen. You need to inflict much damage using several different birds to defeat him, from the blue macaws seen in the movie to the others you are familiar with. The boss fight is not as climactic as expected, but it is pretty easy to complete, which I think was the goal.

Crispy And Charming Graphics

The Angry Birds franchise has always had great visual style, and Angry Birds Rio goes on to improve on that visual polish you expect. The art is simple and charming, and the graphics are one of the game’s most attractive features. If you pay close attention while playing on a great device, you can see that the game is visually sharper and more immersive than its predecessors. The smoothness with which structures crumble and in an organized way speaks to the detail that went into building the game.

The game stages for Angry Birds Rio now have a lot more depth, thanks to the parallax scrolling. You can still zoom into the structures and out in that smooth cinematic camera flow. The caged birds do a lot to portray the colorful nature of Rio; like in the movie, they add a lot of color and contrast to the game. You can also feel slight improvements in graphics, like the birds flying out of their cages.

Conclusion

In Conclusion, Angry Birds Rio is much more exciting than the previous versions, which were somewhat hard to crack. Also, it builds on the massive success of the original game and is a more attractive, snappy new addition. I was initially skeptical about the partnership between Rovio and Blue Sky, but I must say they brought the game world together seamlessly and effectively.

With countless chapters, golden fruits, and monkey fighting levels, Angry Birds Rio is the game that keeps on giving. It is definitely worth playing by experienced devout players as well as new ones. You can get on this tropical goodness with just $.99 on phones and $2.99 on the iPad.